In various activities involving the use of ropes, various devices are used for specific functions. For instance, carabiners are used to connect loosely to a rope. A belay device is used in conjunction with a safety anchor near a climber that a rope attached to the climber passes through, the belay device used by another climber or person below to lock off the rope in case the climber falls so that the climber doesn't fall further than the distance between the safety anchor and a small amount of slack in the rope. Rock anchors that are typically cam devices, rock screws and the like that are used to provide anchoring points in rock and even ice.
Rigging plates and rigging anchors exist that provide points from which a single plate is secured to an anchor point and to which multiple carabiners or ropes may be anchored. A figure 8 descender may be used for emergency rappelling, but friction of the device on the rope may not be sufficient to easily control a heavy load, such as a person. However, these are all separate devices that must be carried separately or independently, and which must be rigged independently. In some of these devices, such as most belay devices, the rope must be threaded through the device in order to use it. In virtually every instance, a harness is worn by the user, the harness secured to a device that attaches to a rope.
Emergency rescues, including rescuing oneself from an immediately dangerous situation, often involve lowering oneself or others to safety using a rope. In the instance of a burning multi-story building, desperate situations arise where the only possible egress from the building is through a window, balcony or the like. In this case, and where a rope is used, the rope must be secured to an anchor of sufficient strength to support at least the weight of a person, or in some instances, two people. The rope must then be threaded through a belay device or descender, and gradually released through the belay device or figure 8 while relying on friction created by the device to serve as a brake. Problems with these devices are the time it takes to rig them, which as noted may involve threading a rope through a belay device, and in some instances, a relatively complex rigging scheme. In a burning building that is rapidly filling with smoke or in imminent danger of collapse, any time spent looking for the right device and/or attempting to thread rope through a device may prove disastrous, particularly considering the mental state of those in danger who are not going to be the coolest of thinkers at that point in time.
Accordingly, there is a need for a single device to perform numerous operations in conjunction with use of a rope and which is simple to use as a belay device, a rappelling device, an anchor, a gouge for digging out soft materials, a glass breaker, and so forth.